Room for 800 homes on Holloway prison site?

A letter from the Ministry of Justice to the House of Commons Justice Committee, has said that the Holloway prison site is ‘expected to open up land for building around 800 new homes’.

The figure of 800 is higher than our earlier estimate of 500 homes. The 9 acre site is a similar size to the Emirates football stadium.

The letter, marked as ‘sensitive’, also confirms that the proceeds from the sale of this large area of public land will not be used for the benefit of the local community and instead will be ploughed back into the criminal justice system.

Explaining the reasoning behind the closure of the prison the Ministry of Justice says that ‘much of Holloway was built as a hospital rather than specifically as a prison’. It argues that it is a ‘poorly designed prison that is not fit for a modern, rehabilitative prison… and its unwieldy layout makes it difficult to supervise and support prisoners effectively’.

Community Plan for Holloway are currently running an online survey. We want to hear from you about what you think the priorities should be for the former prison site. Click on the link below to share your views.